Humidifier



1. M. McHENRY.

HUMIDIFIER FILED APR-25,1921- INVEN'II'OR 1 .956 I Z 717 Weary ATTORNEYPatented Jan. 30, 1923.

JESSE M. MOHENRY, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

HUMIDIFIER.

Application filed April 25,

T 0 all whom it mag concern:

Be it known that I, JnssnM. IVIGHENRY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Detroit, county of Wayne, State of AilCl'lr igan, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Humidifiers, anddeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description. of thesame such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertainsto make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, which form a part of this specification.

Thisjinvention relates to humidifiers and a particular use for which theinvention may be applied is in conjunction with hot air furnacesforhun'iidifying the air prior to discharge into the air pipes of theheating system. The object of the invention isto provide a simple andinexpensive device in eluding a vaporizing pan and a supply tank forsupplying water thereto as it is evaporated by the heat of the furnace.A fur ther object to provide, in conjunction with the tank andevaporating pan, a means for varying the surface area of. water exposedto the influence of the heat of the furnace whereby the relativehumidity of the air may be varied as may be deemed desirable.Anadditional object isto provide an apparatus of the character describedin which the supplytank is mounted exteriorly of the furnace and adaptedto fill an intermediate tank from which the evaporating pan is suppliedwith water. These and other objects and the several novel features ofthe invention are hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and thepreferred form of humidifier embodying my invention ishereinafterclearly shown in the aocompanying drawing in which I Fig. 1is an elevation partly in section showing my improved humidifying devicein its general relation with a furnace.

Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2 -2' of Fig. 1 showing thesupplyandintermediate tanks and vaporizing pan. 7

Fig. 3 is a detail showing a section of a vaporizing pan andindicatingthe manner in which the vaporizing surface of the water may beincreased or decreased in the pan.

The apparatus may be used in various ways wherever vaporization isrequired in the humidifying of air, a specific instance of 1921. SerialNo. 464,301.

ported in any approved manner in the air.

chamber 3 and may be fixed therein or adjustable therein as desired.Preferably, the pan is supported by a bracket 5provided therefor andsecured to the casing forthe furnace and the pan is curved length-wise,as shown more clearly in Fig. 2. A pipe 6 is connected to the bottom ofthe pan and extends therefrom through the casing of the furnace and-is-connected to an inter mediate or auxiliary tank '7. The .main

1 water tank 8 is supported outside of the furnace one standard 9.therefor but may be supported in any other mannerif desired, and thistank provided with a valved filling device 10 at the top through whichPATENT orrlce. j

the tank maybe filled with water and is also provided with an air ventvalve 11 at the top. The tank is further provided with a gauge glass 12connected to the top and bottom of the tank respectively wherebytheamount of water in the tank may be shown.

A normally open faucet 13 isprovided at the bottom of the tank and whenthe tank is positioned on the support 9to the conduit 13 is directlyover the intermediate tank 7, as shown in which, in effect, varies theevaporating surface of the water within the vaporizing In operation thefaucet 13 1S closed by lg. 1-, and discharges thereinto. An air tube 14is provided openingrinto the means of a cock l8 and while this cock isclosed the tank is filled with water at which time it is necessary toopen the air vent 11. When the tank has been filled the vent valve 11and the filling valve are closed and the valve 18 opened. This permitsthe Water from the tank to flow into the intermediate tank 7 through thefaucet 13 and water will flow from the tank as long as air may flowupward through the tube 14: into the top of the tank to replace thedischarged water. As the level of water in the intermediate tank reachesthe bottom of the air tube 14 the air tube is closed preventing furtherflow .of air into the tank whereupon discharge of water through thedischarge faucet 13 closes. It will be noted that by thus filling theintermediate tank 7 I the! water will pass through the pipe line 6 andfill the vaporizing pan 4: to the level in the intermediate tank 7. Asthe water vaporizes dueto the heat in the furnace and the level thereofin the pan and intermediate tank falls below the mouth of the tube 14Lopening will flow through the pipe 13 into the inter mediate tank whichis thus maintained normally supplied; thus keeping the vaporizing pannormally supplied as long as water is provided or supplied to the tank8.

The rapidity with which the water in the pan vaporizes depends upon thesurface thereof exposed to atmosphere. To increase or decrease therelative humidity of the heated air passing from'the furnace I haveprovided a means for adjusting the length of the air tube 14 by theflexibility thereof whereby it may be made to extend into theintermediate tank to a greater or less depth. With the pipe 14:extending into the intermediate tank to the position as shown in Fig. 3the surface of the water within the vaporizing pan exposed to air is ofa certain extent. By raising the lower end of the tube 14 within theintermediate tank for instance to the extent shown by the dotted line ain Fig. 3, a greater surface of water may be exposed to atmosphere inthe vaporizing pan whereby a greater amount of moisture may be providedin the air passing through the furnace and this adjustment may besecured in various ways the preferred form of construction being shownin the drawings. From the foregoing it can be readily seen that thegreater the depth to which the tube 14 ex tends in-tothe intermediatetank theless the evaporating surface of the water within the vaporizingpan and, by raising the tube 14 within the water within the vaporizingpan the evaporating surface of the water is in creased owing to the Vshape of the pan thus increasing or decreasing the evaporating surfaceand relative humidity of the air passing frem the furnace.

As the evaporation is comparatively slow there is no need for any greatamount of water to flow into the vaporizing pan at any time andtherefore the faucet 13' and air tube 1% need not be greater than aboutone'eighth of an inch in internal diameter. These tubes should be ofsmall diameter for the further reason that tubes too large in diameterwill permit too ready a flow of water which is not eflicientlycontrolled by closure of the air tube by the water in the intermediatetank. 5

From the foregoing description it becomes evident that the device isvery simple and eflicient in operation, comparatively inexpensiveinform, and automatic in operation as long as'the tank is supplied withwater and provides a device which accomplishes the objects desired.

Having thus briefly described my invention, what I claim and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is- 1. A humidifyingdevice comprising the combination with a furnace having a casing,

a fire box and a hot airspace therebetween, the same to atmosphere,additional water of an evaporating pan in the hot air space supported bythe casing and spaced from both the casing and fire box, an auxiliarytank exteriorly of the furnace, a conduit extending through the casingconnecting the auxiliary tank and evaporating pan, awater supply tankmounted independently of the auxiliary tank having a valved dischargeoutlet at the bottom through which water may discharge into theauxiliary tank, and an air conduit leading into the top of the supplytank having an end depending into the auxiliary tank and constructed topermit variation of the distance to which the said conduit extends intothe auxiliary tank.

2. A humidifying device comprising the combination with a furnace havinga casing, a fire box and a hot air space therebetween, of an evaporatingpan in the hot air space substantially V shaped in cross section andcurved lengthwise supported by the casing and spaced from both thecasing and fire box, an auxiliary tank exteriorly of the furnace, aconduit extending through the casing connecting the auxiliary tank andevaporating pan, a water supply tank mounted independently of theauxiliary tank and having a discharge faucet at the bottom fordischarging water into the auxiliary tank, a flexible air conduitleading into the top of the supply tank and having an end depending intothe auxiliary tank, and a valved vent device for the supply tank at thetop.

3. A humidifying device comprising the combination with a furnace havinga casing, fire box and a hot air space therebetween, of an evaporatingpan V shaped in cross section and arcuate in form positioned in the airspace and spaced from both the casing and fire box, an auxiliary tank onthe exterior of the casing, a conduit extending through the casingconnecting the auxiliary tank and evaporating pan, a Water supply tankoutside of the furnace, a faucet therefor extending over the auxiliarytank and adapted to discharge thereinto, and an air conduit leading intothe top of the supply tank and having a depending end extending "intothe auxiliary tank, said end being variable in position to vary thelevel of Water in the auxiliary tank and evaporating tank.

In testimony whereof, I sign this specification. i

JESSE M. MoHENRY.

